1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of medication dispensers. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods for storing, and dispensing medication using a dispenser with customizable compartments. The present invention further relates to the determining, stocking, and dispensing of medication using a method of analyzing medication storage requirements to select the configuration of the storage dispenser.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many people take a large number of pills every day. Medications are frequently prescribed by physicians. Vitamin or mineral supplements, and alternative “natural” therapies may also be recommended by friends or magazines, or selected from drugstore, supermarket, or health-food store shelves. Some people take only one or two pills per day, while others may take as many as twenty or more. The effects of medicine on the human body can be important and powerful, so the pills should always be taken exactly as directed.
Handling pills in the home can be very confusing, not only for an elderly, sick, or forgetful person, but even for knowledgeable and attentive individuals. Most medications are taken in the form of pills or capsules that vary widely in size, shape and color. Some containers hold just a few pills for a short period; others hold hundreds for long-term use. Generally, there is a separate container provided by the pharmacy for each type of pill. Pills are dispensed and sold in a broad range of glass, plastic or cardboard containers, separately packaged, and are sometimes difficult to open. Accompanying instructions for use may be complex and hard to read or understand.
In an attempt to eliminate the need for a consumer to store and select multiple containers daily, containers for multiple pills have been developed to permit pills to be dispensed over a specific period; generally for one day or one week. These conventional multiple-pill containers are usually of a fixed size. Known multiple-pill containers are designed to be filled manually by the consumer who must choose pills from the multiplicity of individual pill containers furnished by the pharmacy or other source, and the consumer must accurately sort and sequence these pills in the multiple-pill container. This is not only time consuming but is also subject to error.
People normally take their pills at home without supervision or assistance. Specific pills may need to be taken at different times of the day. People sometimes forget to take their pills, take the wrong number, or take them at the wrong time. They often cannot remember, or do not understand, why they are taking some pills. There may be unintended breaks in the treatment program. For example, if a patient forgets to get a new prescription and runs out of pills, an unintended break occurs while the patient refills the prescription. In addition, the high cost of some medications may make them unaffordable, so fewer pills may be taken by the consumer than required, or the medications may be completely omitted from the treatment regimen.
Unrecognized adverse effects may occur as a result of taking too few or too many pills. Poor compliance with this important aspect of medical treatment can defeat the intended purpose of the treatment program. The effect of the medications may be significantly reduced or excessively exaggerated, and an illness may be prolonged or worsened. Furthermore, medical incompatibility between certain pill combinations can cause serious symptoms that may remain unexplained, or may be misdiagnosed and treated improperly. In some cases, dangerous medical complications can result. Physicians are concerned about the significant risks associated with poor compliance as well as the potentially serious results of drug incompatibility. Health-care providers have become alarmed by the magnitude of these problems nationally. People clearly need help to deal with this very difficult home health care situation.
What is needed is a system and a method for accurately filling, storing, and dispensing medication to provide health care consumers, an effective, and efficient, manner of complying with their treatment regimen.